35 Facts About Sebastian Giovinco

Sebastian Giovinco is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Sebastian Giovinco began his professional career with Italian club Juventus in Serie B in 2006, and soon spent loan spells with Italian clubs Empoli and Parma.

Sebastian Giovinco signed for Toronto FC in 2015, a deal which made him the league's highest paid player.

At international level, Sebastian Giovinco made his debut with the Italy senior side in 2011, and has since collected over 20 caps; he later took part at UEFA Euro 2012, where he won a runners-up medal, and at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, where he won a bronze medal and scored his only international goal.

Sebastian Giovinco was born in Turin to a Sicilian father, Giovanni, originally from Bisacquino in the province of Palermo, and a Calabrian mother, Elvira, originally from Catanzaro, who moved from Southern Italy.

Sebastian Giovinco grew up in Beinasco, a comune southwest of the city, in a family of Milan fans, and joined the Juventus youth system in 1996, when he was nine.

Sebastian Giovinco finished his first season in Serie A with 6 goals in 35 appearances, and was given the Leone d'Argento award, by the club.

Sebastian Giovinco eventually finished the season with 3 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions, 2 of which came from 19 Serie A appearances.

An impressive start to the season earned Sebastian Giovinco a call up to represent the Italian national team.

Sebastian Giovinco fell out of form again and struggled to gain playing time, but he managed to break his goal drought on 14 April 2014, with a goal against Udinese, taking the ball past a defender and scoring with a left footed curling shot from outside the box.

On 19 January 2015, Sebastian Giovinco signed with Canadian team Toronto FC of Major League Soccer.

Sebastian Giovinco was set to join the team upon the completion of the Serie A season in July 2015.

Sebastian Giovinco signed a five-year contract with a reported annual salary of $7 million, making him the highest paid player in MLS ahead of Orlando City SC's Kaka, and the highest paid Italian player in all leagues.

Sebastian Giovinco provided an assist for Jozy Altidore's equalising goal in the 32nd minute.

Sebastian Giovinco had just returned from international duty earlier that day, having appeared for Italy the day before in a Euro 2016 qualifying match in Rome.

In November 2015, Sebastian Giovinco was named one of the three finalists for both the 2015 MLS Newcomer of the Year Award and the 2015 MLS MVP Award, winning both awards on 23 November and 2 December respectively, while three days before the latter, on 29 November, he was named to the MLS Best XI.

Sebastian Giovinco was named to the Team of the Week for his performances.

In July 2016, Sebastian Giovinco was included in the roster for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game.

Sebastian Giovinco was named to the Team of the Week for his performances, and was named MLS Player of the Week for the first time that season.

Sebastian Giovinco was included among the finalists for the 2017 MLS MVP award, after being omitted from the list of finalists for the award the previous season.

Sebastian Giovinco returned to action in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Finals against Columbus Crew on 29 November, at BMO field; he was involved in the only goal of the match, scored by Altidore, which saw Toronto win the Eastern Conference for the second consecutive year, and earn a place in the 2017 MLS Cup Final.

Sebastian Giovinco won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player; he was directly involved in 11 of the 13 goals that Toronto FC scored in the competition, and notched four goals and three assists in eight appearances, which made him the joint top-scorer of the tournament alongside teammate and Golden Boot winner Jonathan Osorio.

Sebastian Giovinco is one of very few players to have now scored in three different club continental competitions in his career.

In January 2022, Sebastian Giovinco joined the training camp for former club Toronto FC.

However, on 8 February 2022, Sebastian Giovinco signed with Sampdoria, a short-term contract until the end of June, as a replacement for the injured Manolo Gabbiadini.

Sebastian Giovinco has represented Italy at every youth level from the under-16 level onwards.

Sebastian Giovinco played at the 2008 Toulon Tournament, where he appeared in all five matches, and was voted the most valuable player of the competition, scoring two goals in the opening game against the Ivory Coast, and netting the winning penalty in the semi-final shoot-out against Japan.

Sebastian Giovinco was named part of Italy's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2012.

Sebastian Giovinco appeared as a substitute in the two opening group matches of the tournament against Spain and Croatia, almost assisting a goal against Spain in the opening match, as the earlier goalscorer Antonio Di Natale put his lobbed pass over the bar.

Sebastian Giovinco came on during the second half, and he helped set up Giorgio Chiellini's second, match-winning goal, hitting the cross-bar towards the end of the match, from a strike outside the area, after an individual dribbling run.

Sebastian Giovinco was ultimately ruled out of both matches after sustaining an adductor injury against Montreal Impact, and New York City FC's Andrea Pirlo became the first MLS player to play for Italy, during the same qualifiers.

On 5 October 2018, Sebastian Giovinco was called up, for the first time in three years, by new manager Roberto Mancini for a friendly match on 10 October against Ukraine and a UEFA Nations League match against Poland on 14 October he was an unused substitute for both matches.

Sebastian Giovinco is a small, quick, technically gifted, and agile player, with noted dribbling skills, balance, acceleration, and excellent ball control; these characteristics allow him to beat opponents, hold up the ball with his back to goal or in tight spaces, and create space for teammates, despite his lack of strong physical attributes.

In 2015, Sebastian Giovinco was named one of the 100 best footballers in the world by The Guardian, FourFourTwo, and L'Equipe.

In 2022, Sebastian Giovinco joined Juventus' Toronto Academy as part of their coaching staff.